Training
The High School Discus Thrower
Step-By-Step Teaching Of Discus Technique
By Bill Pendleton, Esperanza
High School, Anaheim, CA
Pendleton has some very interesting thoughts in here about the discus, an event he takes very
seriously, George Payan, head of the Coaches Alliance in California, sent the article in. We certainly would like more high
school coaches to participate like this. Let's hear from others.
Developing a skilled top-level discus
thrower requires patience but has many rewards. To begin with, the discus is an event that requires a high level of skill.
Unlike the sprints or jumps, a decent thrower is almost never beaten by a superior athlete who walks over and dabbles in the
event. By becoming technically proficient, a thrower of very modest athletic ability will defeat the great majority of his
competitors, and a truly gifted athlete will dominate most meets short of the prestigious invitationals. In discussing the
training of the discus thrower, I will emphasize coaching approaches I have found successful in developing high school throwers.
I will discuss everything in terms of a right-handed thrower. Reverse all directions for a left-hander. Also, in describing
the ring, I will refer to the rear where the throw begins at 12 o'clock with the front being 6 o'clock etc.
Selection
of athletes
For most throwing coaches cut ting athletes is never a requirement, so the
real question is to whom do I devote the greatest coaching effort. If the coach only has one or two athletes, this is simple,
but with five or more throwers, the coach needs to try and spot aptitude early and nurture it. Ideally, a discus thrower is
gifted with athletic ability which may be evident as he excels in other sports.
Height is also of
great benefit. Height provides two indispensable qualities. First, long arms provide long levers. If two discus throwers are
rotating at the same speed, the farther the discus is from the body (or axis) the greater the momentum generated. Secondly,
a taller thrower has a higher release point if he/she throws correctly.
Three factors determine the
distance a discus will travel: 1) velocity of discus at release; 2) angle of re lease; 3) height of release point. A
6'-tall thrower throwing a discus on the exact same flight path (parabola) as a 5' 9" thrower will throw farther since
his flight path starts higher and reaches the ground later. Yet, since few of us are blessed with tall and skilled athletes,
the best bet initially is the well coordinated athlete while the taller thrower represents longer range potential.
Introducing
the discus
Ideally the training of the thrower can begin in the fall. However, if the thrower
needs to begin in the spring following a winter sport, the same training principles apply. The most important factor with
beginners is devote enough time to them so that they become fundamentally sound. It is very difficult to take a thrower who
has been throwing with major flaws, such as diving out of the back, and correct these flaws. It takes less time overall to
start them correctly.
Firstly, a thrower must walk correctly before he can run. In other words, he
must know how to grip and release the discus properly before he takes standing throws. Then, he must master the standing throw
before he throws from a pivot on the right foot. Lastly, he must pivot correctly be fore he takes complete throws.
All beginning throwers see older throwers and want to attempt full throws, but when they begin these
on their own, they develop and reinforce flaws which they may never lose.
The first area of importance is the grip. The
beginner may either spread his fingers or place the index and middle finger together with the joint of the first knuckle on
the out side edge of the discus. Have the beginner stand with his arm at his side and squeeze the discus like a bar of
soap so that it squirts out forward. Most beginners will release the dis out the back of their hand.
Secondly, have two beginners stand five yards apart and "bowl" the discus back and forth. This teaches them to release
the discus correctly, If they do not release it correctly, it will not roll to the partner. After they can bowl it back and
forth several times without either one of them having to move sideways to catch it, they should back up to 10 yards until
they are successful at that distance and so on back to about 20 yards.
Next, the throwers move on
to releasing the discus horizontally or "skimming" the discus. They stand about 20 yards apart and throw the discus
back and forth releasing the discus horizontally working on level flight. They should understand that the faster a discus
rotates, the farther it will travel, so a good release is vital.
The Standing Throw
In teaching the discus we break the throw into four parts: 1) exiting the rear of the ring as the throw begins over
the left foot; 2) driving out of the back and landing on the right foot in the center of the ring; 3) pivoting on the right
foot until the left foot touches in the power position; 4) throwing from the power position.
The teaching
progression takes these four parts and works backwards. In teaching the discus, we will use a "whole-part-whole"
approach. Show the 'beginner what a full throw looks like and explain that we will master the final step and then work backwards
one step at a time before at tempting the full throw.
Standing throws should not only provide a warmup, but they should emphasize technique that will improve the full throw, not
just the standing throw. For example, excessive lunging forward during the standing throw will add distance to the standing
throw but detract from the full throw. The type of standing throw I prefer is seen on the Mac Wilkins instructional video.
The thrower faces the back of the ring with the right foot in the center. The weight is centered on the
right foot. To begin, the thrower holds the discus in front of him and swings it a little to his left and then draws it back
keeping the right arm at full extension until the discus points up at the same angle it will be finally released at the finish
of the throw.
As the discus is drawn back, the left leg extends back about two feet until the ball
of the foot contacts the ring at 7 o'clock. This puts the thrower in a "heel to toe" relation ship. The right
foot is on a line dividing the center of the ring from 12 to 6 o'clock. The left foot is behind this line so that the hips
can be opened up as the thrower rotates to throw. The left arm stays extended in front of the body. The left arm needs to
stay extended as a counterbalance to the extended right arm.
As the right arm reaches as far back
as it can, the thrower lifts his/ her left foot slightly and then drops it. This foot touch simulates what happens in the
real throw as the left foot reaches the power position. This touch initiates the throw. The right foot pivots on the ball
of the foot as the right arm retracts in a long Ushaped path down to a low point behind the thrower and back up to a
release as near shoulder height as possible. The right foot stays on the ball of the foot as it pivots.
Ideally, the right arm will stay as near as perpendicular to the body as possible as it sweeps around the body. The left arm
will also be extended as it sweeps from 12 o'clock to 6'o'clock with the thumb pointing at the body.
Once the left arm reaches the front of the circle, it should be shortened by bending the elbow until the elbow leads the arm
as it passes parallel to the left shoulder at the end of the throw. This bending or "shortening" of the left arm
increases its speed since it is now cutting a shorter arc. This helps the thrower to get a "stretch" across the
chest as he throws. This stretch provides the proper action of pulling the discus not throwing it by leading with the left
arm.
At the release point the thrower is striving to release the discus just as his knees lock out
to achieve the highest possible height of release and still have the hips ahead of the discus. In a no-reverse throw the left
foot will remain facing the front as the right foot pivots. No-reverse throws are a good way to develop a good block.
Blocking is a crucial concept in developing a good thrower. Blocking is a term that describes the stopping of one part of
the body to accelerate another part. In the release, blocking refers to the stopping of the left side of the body at the release
of the discus to accelerate the right side. Biomechanically, at the finish we have a rotating line across the shoulders. If
we decelerate the left end of this line (the left shoulder, we accelerate the right end (the discus). This can be explained
to young throwers by comparing it to a skateboard rider riding 10 miles an hour. If he hits a curb, his feet and the skateboard
decelerate immediately to 0 mph causing his head to accelerate beyond 10 mph. A common practice is to start the throwing workout
with no-reverse standing throws.
The Pivot
Once a thrower can correctly throw from a standing position, we
begin to work backwards. The phase of the actual throw just before the finish in the power position is the pivot over the
right foot to the power position. To work on this we do pivot throws.
In a pivot throw the thrower
begins with the right foot in the center of the circle and the left at the rear of the circle at 11 o'clock. Helshe should
be facing 7 o'clock. Both hands and the discus are held in front of the body.
To begin, the thrower
bends the right knee to a 90-degree angle Gust as the knee should be when the thrower lands in the middle of the ring on a
full throw) and gets up on the ball of the right foot. The thrower initiates the throw by drawing the right arm back as far
as possible, while leaving the left arm facing the front. The right arm should be kept as parallel to the ground as possible,
avoiding the natural tendency to scribe a vertical pendulum with the discus.
Once the discus gets
as far back as possible, the thrower should pivot as fast as possible keeping the right knee bent (the head should not rise
up during the pivot). The left foot should land on the ball of the foot at 5 o'clock so the thrower is in a good heel-toe
relationship just like the standing throw. When the left foot hits, the thrower should have the discus back over his right
hip and his left arm slightly bent pointing at 11 o'clock; then he executes all the fundamentals of the standing throw but
with the added momentum of pivoting.
The two keys to a pivot throw are: 1) Keep the thrower's weight
in the center of the ring instead of rocking to the front foot and lunging on the throw. This can be worked on by having the
thrower stop the pivot as soon as the left foot hits the ground and immediately pick the left foot up off the ground a few
inches. This is impossible unless the thrower's weight is in the center of the ring over the right foot; 2) Keep the discus
back. The natural reaction of beginners is to lead the body's rotation with the discus, so the shoulders are always parallel
to the hips, in stead of staying "wound up" with the shoulders trailing the hips, so that when the left foot
hits, the discus is facing 12 o'clock and the throw (the distance the discus will be pulled after the left foot hits) will
only cover 180 degrees or half a circle instead of a minimum 3/4-of-a-circle up to a full circle pull achieved by keeping
the discus back over the right hip.
To keep the discus back, the thrower must keep his left arm in
front of him as Helshe pivots. He must remember that the arms basically should operate at 180 degrees opposite each other.
If he pulls the left arm around too fast at the start, the right arm will also rotate too soon.
One way to work on keeping
the discus back is to imagine the shoulder has a "latch." Once the discus is pulled back, the "latch"
clicks and the discus is locked there until the power position is reached.
A thrower can also work
on keeping the discus back by momentarily pausing when the left foot hits on the pivot, to feel the discus back, then finish.
Beginners especially can benefit from three-point pivot throws. In a three-point pivot the thrower will
cup the discus with his fingers over the discus so he doesn't drop it. Pivot three separate times and throw only on the third
pivot. On the first pivot the left foot hits at 5 o'clock as al ways and the thrower pauses (he can also pick up left
foot briefly here to see if the weight is back). Then they pivot again continuing to rotate counterclockwise, bringing the
left foot back to 11 o'clock again. Pause again. This time, re-grip the discus, so it can be thrown. Then pivot again to 5
o'clock and throw.
The three-point pivot provides a lot of repetition and reinforcement in keeping
the weight over the middle and keeping the discus back in a short time. It is very important that the thrower stay up on the
ball of the foot at all times and never let the heel touch.
Once a thrower is proficient at pivoting,
he can work on increasing rotation speed two ways. The can "kick" himself in the rear by bringing the left heel
towards his rear during rotation. This shortens the swing (arc) of the lower leg and thus speeds it up. He can also think
of "squeezing" the knees by bringing them together quickly as they rotate. This also speeds up rotation.
The "Step-In"
or "South African"
Once a thrower can correctly pivot, we again work backwards.
The next step is coming out of the back of the ring. There are two common methods of working out of the back off the left
foot. Both begin with the thrower facing the front of the ring.
The step-in throw emphasizes rotation,
while the South African throw emphasizes being dynamic and explosive.
The step-in begins with the
thrower facing the front of the ring. Both feet are together with the heels against the rear of the ring. The thrower holds
the discus in front and then draws the discus back parallel to the ground as far as possible. As the discus is being drawn
back, the thrower leaves the left arm facing the front of the ring. Also, as the thrower draws the discus back, he steps for
ward with the right foot to the center of the ring. Normally, in a full cross ring throw the thrower's right foot lands facing
approximately 2 o'clock.
In the step-in, however, we want to have the thrower work on rotation, so
we make him exaggerate the rotation. He steps in and points the right foot at 6 o'clock (straight ahead). This forces the
thrower to rotate 360 degrees on the right foot before throwing. He must stay on the ball of the foot and keep his weight
over the right foot to complete the throw. This throw must be done a little slower than a normal throw, so the thrower can
rotate completely. Once the thrower rotates and the left foot hits the power position, the coaching points are the same as
the standing throw.
In the South African throw the thrower again faces the front of the ring with the left foot at 11 o'clock. The right foot,
however, is outside the circle similar to where it will be swung when the right leg is swept wide out of the back in a full
cross ring throw. Here, though, the foot is stationary. A line drawn through both feet will point at 5 o'clock. To begin
the throw, the thrower again swings the discus to the front and then draws it back as far as possible, letting the body wind
with it. When the discus is ready to be brought forward, the thrower drives forward off the left foot, sweeping the right
leg in a wide arc. He should lead the right leg sweep with the inner thigh of the right leg, not the right knee. The thrower
will exit the back of the ring with his eyes focused forward and upward. The left arm will be slightly flexed but kept long
as the thrower drives forward off the ground.
As the thrower leaves the ground with his left foot,
the coach should see the right leg driving forward at a right angle to the body with the knee also at a right angle to the
thigh, while the discus remains held behind the shoulder.
This distance between the right knee and
the trailing right shoulder is called "separation." The more separation the thrower achieves, the better. Good separation
enables the thrower to land on the right foot, rotate and hit the power position with the left foot while keeping the discus
held back as far as possible so the thrower gets a long "pull." A thrower who brings the discus forward at the same
time as the right leg usually achieves little or no separation.
In addition, the discus should scribe
a wide arc with its lowest point at 12 o'clock sweeping out and up as it is brought around past II, 10 and 9 o'clock. The
thrower should drive towards the right-center portion of the sector since the momentum created by the sweeping right leg being
brought back inside will push the thrower to the left, resulting in the right foot landing in the center. A thrower who drives
straight ahead will end up on the left side of the throwing circle while a thrower who drives to right center will usually
end up correctly positioned.
After the thrower's left foot leaves the ground, the right leg is actively
pulled underneath the body to increase rotational speed. As the right foot is pulled into the center, the discus should scribe
as wide an arc as possible. Ideally, the arm carrying the discus remains perpendicular to the body.
As the thrower "unseats" (leaves the back), he turns and the discus should point upward at the same angle as the
discus will be released at. The orbit of the discus will be lower in the back and higher in the front. Once the right foot
hits the center, facing approximately 2 o'clock, all the coaching points of the pivot and standing throw apply.
The
Full Cross-Ring throw
Once throwers master the preceding steps, they are ready to begin throwing
from the back of the circle. All beginning throwers will want to move to the back very quickly, but if they are not ready,
they develop bad habits which can be very hard to break. If the coach is not always with a thrower because he is working with
older throwers, a young thrower throwing full cross-ring throws pre maturely often develops incorrect "muscle memory,"
i.e., patterns of movement which become difficult to correct. Try to spend the majority of time with the top throwers of any
grade, then beginners (especially promising ones of any grade level), and then older throwers (sophomores, juniors, seniors)
of average ability.
To begin the full throw, the thrower assumes a position with his navel aligned
at 12 o'clock. the feet should be evenly distanced from that point and the knees flexed about 45 degrees. If the thrower begins
with the discus in the right hand at the right side, all he should need to do to initiate the throw is swing the discus back
a little and then across the body to the left beyond the chest. Then he should draw the discus back until it is behind him
and almost over the left foot.
He will rotate the body as he draws the discus back. The left arm should
be relaxed and slightly flexed staying 180 degrees from the throwing arm. As the discus is being drawn back, the left leg
should be pivoting on the ball of the foot and maintaining the same angle at the knee.
In the interest
of stability, it can be advantageous to keep the right foot flat on the ground as the arm is with drawn and starts forward.
The thrower's weight can also be shifted over the right foot as the discus is drawn back.
If a coach
has all throwers utilize this simple start to the throw or any equally quick and simple start, he will avoid the waste of
throwing time lost when throwers crank the discus back and forth several times. With many throwers using the same ring, this
is an inexcusable waste of time. Excessive cranking the arm gains nothing.
The thrower should get
mentally ready to throw before entering the ring, not step in and crank until he feels right. Once the thrower reaches the
farthest point of drawing the discus back, it is important that he initiates the throw by shifting the weight towards and
over the left foot and begins to rotate the left knee forward. He should not initiate the throw by starting to bring the discus
forward.
Again, he can imagine a "latch" clicking when the discus is completely back, keeping
it back. The left side of the body turns in unison at the start of the throw. The left foot, left knee, and left arm all point
in the same direction as the thrower begins to turn.
It is important that the thrower develop a wide
right leg sweep to generate power. To utilize the wide right leg, the thrower needs to pick up the right foot off the ground
when his chest reaches a point about 10 o'clock. When the thrower drives out
of the back, he should be driving to the
right of center since the wide right leg sweeping in will pull him left of where he initially drives.
In general, if he drives just inside the right foul line, a good right leg will pull him to the center, whereas if he drives
to the center, a wide right leg will pull him into the hole (left of the center line).
He should keep
the knees apart as long as possible to avoid leading the throw with the right knee.
A common error
among throwers is to pivot both feet until they are 90 degrees from the starting point and facing directly left before picking
up the right foot. If a thrower does this, he will almost always swing the right foot out and back in a pendulum motion, leading
the throw with the right knee. This reduces the rotary action of the right leg and reduces its power and speed, since it is
now on a much smaller radius from the body. Often this is accompanied by excessive leaning and falling out of the back instead
of driving up off of the left foot.
The right leg should sweep outside the circle slightly flexed
and, as the thrower's foot sweeps across the back of the circle, the coach should not see the bottom of the thrower's shoe
when he drives forward. If the sole is visible, he is leading with the right knee, not the thigh. The side of the shoe should
be seen by the coach.
When he reaches a point where he is facing down the right foul line, the leg
accelerates forward leading with the inside of the thigh instead of the knee. The thrower's eyes and left arm should be aimed
just above, parallel to the ground. All this time the angle of the left knee should not change.
Whether he drives at the foul line or just right of center depends on the thrower. The aiming point should be adjusted by
observing the thrower's feet when he hits the power position. If a line drawn between the thrower's right heel and left toe
is to the right of a line drawn down the center from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock, the thrower needs to stay on the left leg longer,
continuing to rotate before he drives out. If this "heel-toe" line is to the left of the center line, he needs to
drive off the left sooner. Ideally, the "heel-toe" line will be the same as the center 12 to 6 line.
When the thrower's left foot is leaving the ground, the right hip and right knee should be as far in front of the discus as
possible. As discussed in the South African section, this is "separation." Having separation insures that the thrower
is keeping the discus behind him and that when he hit the power position, he will have a long pull. Pictured below are images
of four world class throwers as they appeared breaking contact with the left foot. This is what the coach should see if he
stands at 2 o'clock, which is generally the best position to view the start of the throw.
Many throwers
will have the discus even with the right hip as they exit the back. This leads to a short pull when the power position is
reached since the discus will be around 1 o'clock when the left foot hits 4 or 5 o'clock, as it should be.
The body should be upright during this "unseating" or exiting of the back. When the thrower leaves the ground, the
right thigh should be actively pulled in underneath the body to increase rotational speed. The vertical axis (a line drawn
through the head to the rear) of the body should go from near vertical upon unseating to tilted toward the back, as the discus
is rotated toward the front of the circle.
In addition, many throwers are helped by using a "focal
point." This means they lock their eyes momentarily on an object such as a tree or pole which is in the direction they
wish to drive. This usually helps them drive straighter and be more linear across the ring. For many athletes seeing where
they are driving helps.
It also prevents over rotation out of the back where the thrower stays on
the left so long that he exits the back facing 2 o'clock, or even back wards, developing no linear speed across the ring.
When they do this they will probably land well short of halfway across the ring.
Ideally the chest remains erect and
the head is an extension of the spine, not bent forward. Keep the knees apart to avoid leading the throw with the right knee.
A common error among throwers is to pivot both feet until they are 90 degrees from the starting point
and facing directly left before picking the foot up.
When the right foot makes contact with the center of the circle,
the foot will be somewhere between 1 and 3 o'clock. It should also be very near the center of the ring. If the thrower lands
in the back half of the ring, usually accompanied by the foot facing 12 o'clock, he is not generating the speed across the
ring that he should. In this incorrect scenario he will also usually lunge forward while throwing instead of turning on a
tight axis after driving to the landing position. If the thrower lands correctly, the left foot should be pointing 180 degrees
away from the right at the time the right foot touches down. Pictured below are the same elite throwers viewed from the same
angle as their right foot makes contact.
Beginners should not rush the right foot coming down but should rush the left coming down after the right. The rhythm of the
throw is "sweeeeep, boom-boom" as the feet come down. If a thrower consistently fails to drive across the ring,
a towel can be laid across the ring halfway across from 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock. Then make the thrower drive out of the back
to clear the towel as he/she sets up to throw. To accelerate the thrower's speed as the right foot touches down in the center,
he can "squeeze the knees" or "kick the butt," as discussed in the "pivot" section.
Once the thrower has hit this power position, the emphasis is now primarily on vertical lift. The coaching points are all
the same as in the standing throw. The coach should check and make sure that the thrower is finishing his throw by continuing
to rotate the right foot as he throws so that on a non-reverse throw, the right foot is turned past 6 o'clock, as the left
foot is still at 6 o'clock. In addition, the left arm should be ripping across, finishing in a bent position at the thrower's
left shoulder, creating a "stretch" across the thrower's chest as discussed earlier.
Also,
the rhythm of the entire throw is constant acceleration. A beginner should be slow to fast. An accomplished thrower can be
moderately fast to faster. However, the great majority of young throwers are too fast out of the back. Beginners usually leave
the back too fast and then have a hesitation in the throw due to faulty technique.
For example, they
may fall out of the back with a lot of speed, and then land on a flat foot or lunge forward at the finish, stopping their
rotational speed and resulting in reduced speed of the discus at release.
They must understand the
only speed that matters is velocity at release. Any speed that is generated must be able to be carried through to the release.
The thrower must try to release the discus at shoulder level with an extended arm and a good block. Ideally, the knees should
be locking out as the discus is released. A thrower, however, who generates great speed may still have the right knee bent
on release.
The thrower then should "chase" the discus by attempting to extend and stay
with the discus as long as possible. Upon release, the discus should be tilted slightly upwards and the outside edge should
be slightly lower than the inside edge. As the discus flies, it should appear to flatten out with the outside edge rising
to parallel to the ground. A thrower who reverses after the throw should execute the same coaching points mentioned in the
standing throw section.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
FALLING OUT OF THE RING ON THE LEFT SIDE
This is probably the most common
fault, especially with beginners. They finish the throw with the head pulling down to the left, the arm well above the shoulder.
Usually the discus has the outside edge far higher than the left and the thrower falls out of control, out the left side.
This is caused by the thrower not transfer ring his weight over the left foot as he begins the throw. As a result his
center of gravity is not over the left foot, and his vertical axis is tilted too much toward the 3 o'clock side of the ring.
He continues to rotate and throw on that axis and falls out that side.
Throwers working by themselves
should know this and any time they fall out of the left side, they should get over the left foot more, exiting the back on
the next throw. No-re verse or "stop" throws (the thrower begins a full throw but cups the discus with his
hand and stops when he hits the power position) help the coach correct this fault. If the thrower is on balance, he can hold
the power position when he hits it and a non reverse lets the coach see more easily where the feet are being placed.
low to the left as he throws. Usually he is ducking the head and shoulders down to the left. The discus will go off right.
To correct this, the thrower needs to stand tall at the release and chase the discus with his right shoulder.
Secondly, a common cause is the thrower is getting off the left foot too early and a line drawn through his feet will point
along the right sector line. This makes it very difficult to
THROWING OFF TO THE RIGHT
This can have two causes. First, if the thrower's feet are aligned correctly, but the throw is on the right sector
line or wider, the thrower is probably pulling his body away and get the disc around. The thrower needs to stay on the left
foot longer and work on getting the feet correctly aligned ..
ENDING UP IN THE HOLE
The "hole" is the section of the ring by 4 or 5 o'clock. If a thrower ends up in the corner but is not falling out
on that side, he is on balance, but not on the desired linear path from 12 to 6 o'clock which produces maximum power. He is
probably staying on his left foot too long and over rotating so that the left foot is pointing at 3 or 4 o'clock when he unseats
(leaves the back). He needs to work on driving out of the back at an earlier point.
ALL OF THE ABOVE PROBLEMS CAN
BE IMPROVED BY THE FOLLOWING DRILL:
Throwers with balance problems can work on this by going on
a large hard surface such as blacktop or cement and working on driving out of the back to set up on different lines. For example,
line up with the feet on a line and then wind and drive out on a line directly to the left, instead of straight ahead to 6
o'clock to a stop. The heel-toe line should be perpendicular to the left from where you started. Then move to driving and
stopping on a 45-degree angle to where you started on the left side. Then straight as usual, then a 45-degree angle into the
hole and then perpendicular to the right side. To do this you must get over the left foot and learn when to drive off it.
You learn to be "on" the left foot and not fall into the throw.
THE
DISCUS ITSELF IS TOO VERTICAL DURING FLIGHT
This means that as the discus leaves the thrower's
hand it appears almost vertical. Several problems can cause this. First, the thrower may be driving too far into the hole
(left side of the circle), so that as he rotates, trying to keep the center of gravity in the center, he is leaning back toward
the center. This means as he throws the vertical axis is tilted left to right as viewed from the back of the ring so the throwing
arm is lower than it should be, even though it may be perpendicular to the body.
If the coach watches
the thrower's feet, he will see the thrower's right foot come down left of the 12-6 o'clock line and the left foot also come
down left of the line and also probably not get past the right into a heel toe relationship. The thrower will usually
stumble a little back to the right as he throws.
To work on this, have the thrower do no-reverse throws
and stop throws. This makes him stay over the feet as he throws or stops and he can develop a feel for being over the feet
correctly, which helps him get to a vertical axis.
One other reason for a vertical flight may be that
the thrower's orbit is reaching a high point at 3 or 4 o'clock, because he is staying on the
left foot too long, so that
the high and low points of the orbit are 8 and 10 o'clock instead of 6 and 12 o'clock. This means that the discus is just
beginning to rise when it passes the release point at 7 o'clock and will be released too low. When the low point is this close
to the release, the thrower does not have time to pull the discus back up to a correct release point near the shoulder. To
correct this, the thrower needs to get off the left sooner and make sure the apex of the orbit is over the right-center portion
of the sector.
THE DISCUS LOOKS ROUND LEAVING THE THROWER
As viewed from the rear, a correctly
thrown discus will have the right edge a little lower than the left edge (and it will flatten during flight). The front edge
will also be a little higher than the back. If the discus appear as a "moon" (almost circular) then the discus is
not very aerodynamic. With a beginner the cause may be that the thumb on the throwing hand is too vertical. With a more experienced
thrower the problem is probably that he is leaning forward too much upon release, so that the head-foot axis is tilted forward.
This means he cannot get into the proper arm perpendicular to the body position to throw because he would be throwing the
disc into the ground. To compensate he brings the arm through a path that is 45 degrees from the head-to-waist line to get
the discus up. To correct this, he needs to stay back and throw with the chest up.
FROM: TRACK COACH 140
